


All Apologies

by QueenHimiko



Category: Slayers (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Dreams, F/M, Lemon, Sword Fighting, slayers novels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 04:15:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10846275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenHimiko/pseuds/QueenHimiko
Summary: After losing her temper while getting sword fighting lessons from Gourry, Lina decides to make things up to him. Novels continuity. Written as a request for scrik.





	All Apologies

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the Slayers, I just play in the sandbox.
> 
> This is set during the 6th Slayers novel, Vezendi's Shadow, basically when the group is staying at Radok's mansion. In the novels Lina asks Gourry for sword fighting lessons to up her game. And that's about all you need to know to follow this.

“Hey Gourry, do you have time for another round of sword practice?” Lina asked, and as soon as she let the words fall from her mouth, she wished she could swallow them back in. Sword fighting was the last thing that she had wanted to do. Both her body and her ego were battered and bruised from his training the previous night. She also had not gotten a good night’s sleep since Zuuma had returned, meaning she was even more short tempered and irritable than usual! Add to it the fact that she was having to expend the reserves of her depleted patience on the arrogant Radok and his obnoxious son, Abel, Lina wanted to pound someone to a pulp, not be pounded into a pulp.

 

And if she was training with Gourry, then it was the latter that would be happening that night.

 

Still. Lina could not ignore the fact that they would be leaving bright and early the next morning to draw Zuuma out and, hopefully, take him down for good this time. So Lina needed to be at the top of her game. She needed every advantage she could muster. She just couldn’t rely on Gourry to do the heavy work. Sure, he was a top notch swordsman who had sworn to protect her, but it wasn’t a fair burden to put on him. It’s hard enough defending your own ass on the battlefield, let alone having to watch out for someone else. So before she could overthink it she asked.

 

It took Gourry a moment to respond, and in that moment she hoped that he would say that he was busy or that he wasn’t paying attention and ask her to repeat the question. Instead he took a deep breath and said, “Sure.”

 

And so they found themselves in the gardens after dinner. Lina had hoped she would have improved some after her poor showing the previous night, but if anything, she was doing worse. While last night she had tried to vary her dodge pattern, tonight she was so tired and sore that she was lazy and kept dodging to the right. Something that Gourry picked up on.

 

“Damn,” she swore as he whacked her yet again, on the hip this time. As she massaged the aching wound she wondered just how ugly the bruise would be.

 

“You keep dropping your arm too early.”

 

“Well it’s hard when you’re coming at me so fast!” she snapped, though if she had been in a calmer frame of mind she would have been mindful that Zuuma would have been coming in just as swiftly…and without warning.

 

She could feel him staring at her, and it made her even more angry. She was about to ask what his problem was when he observed, “You didn’t get good sleep last night.”

 

“So?” she snarled.

 

“When you’re tired you don’t learn things well. Get some good sleep. It’ll come more naturally in the morning.”

 

“No!” she protested, “I have to get this down tonight!”

 

“Trust me.”

 

From behind Gourry, she saw a door on the balcony open, and observed Radok coming out, unabashedly watching them. “How long has he been there?” Lina asked, incensed.

 

Gourry shrugged, “He was watching last night.”

 

“Watching me get my butt kicked!” Lina yelled. “Come on, Gourry. One more time.”

 

He looked at her warily, but fell into a fighting stance that she mirrored. Once she was ready he charged at her, and she brought her sword up and somehow managed to deflect it as all of the movements he had been drilling into her seemed to finally come together! _That’ll show him!_ Lina thought victoriously as Gourry stood down. But Lina wasn’t through yet. She wanted to show just how much she was learning as she charged at Gourry, who took a step back, causing her to lose her balance as she brought the practice sword down. He managed to catch her as she tumbled, even as he sacrificed his own balance in the process, his muscular form cushioning the ground and providing a nice pillow as she landed on top of him.

 

“What’s gotten into you?” Gourry asked, sounding slightly annoyed as she placed her hands on his chest to push herself up.

 

He blushed, and the realization swiftly followed that she was straddling him in a rather intimate matter. A series of emotions followed. The first was a jolt of pleasure, trailed by confusion and topped off with a hefty dose of embarrassment. “Idiot!” she screeched as she smacked him hard and jumped off of him. She was about to yell at him some more when she caught the look on his face, and the words died in her throat. A mixture of hurt flashed across his features, followed briefly with annoyance.

 

“Remember, I’m doing this to help.” He said as he stood up and tossed the practice sword aside. “Get some good sleep, Lina.”

 

Lina’s mouth worked wordlessly a few times as she watched him walk to his room while she tried to figure out what had just happened. Why had she charged at him so recklessly in the first place? Well, that she understood. It was a bad habit left over from constantly trying to prove herself to her sister, one she thought had been drilled out of her. Yet something about being trained by someone so vastly superior in skill to her had brought those feelings out again. And it didn’t help that it was Gourry, whose skills she had no right to dismiss as animal instinct.

 

While he appeared so dumb that his skills just seemed like sheer intuition, training with him had taught her just how methodical and calculated he was on the battlefield. No, he was not just a naturally good swordsman. He was just good at making something ridiculously hard look easy.

 

 _In that regard, I got real lucky when I ran into him and he decided to be my guardian,_ she thought as she batted down the butterflies that flew in her stomach while rubbing her sore hip. _Provided I haven’t just turned him off the job._

 

Slowly she started to head to the bathroom, trying to ignore the tension that was building through her as she thought morosely that Xellos was right. Spring had arrived. And she had likely killed it before it really had a chance to blossom if the looked that flashed across Gourry’s face after she had hit him said anything.

 

 _No wonder he never makes a move._ She thought as guilt slowly nibbled at her. After all, he had sacrificed his past two evenings to train her. And he was risking his life to help her with Zuuma. Charging at him and then slapping him for her mistake, well, that was a low blow. Even for her.

 

* * *

 

 

When she finally hauled herself out of the bath, she headed to the room that she now shared with Amelia, who was already asleep. Lina crawled into bed, grateful at least that though Radok was a pain in the ass, at least the beds in his mansion were soft and cushy. She closed her eyes and wondered if Gourry would still be mad at her in the morning as memories of the feel of his body beneath her swarmed through her consciousness and she wondered what could have happened if she had embraced the moment rather than hitting him. The guilt surged once more as a strange thought came to mind. That perhaps she should apologize.

 

She sampled the thought as she hugged her pillow. Apologizing would be the right thing to do. And it would show some maturity on her part. And she did need Gourry on her side right now, considering the enemy they were facing. Besides, perhaps it could lead to other things…

 

 _What’s gotten into you?_  She thought to herself, _you have enough on your plate! Romance is not something you need to add to it._

 

But still. She let her mind wander a bit, yet every time she got to a certain point the guilt popped up to shut down her thoughts. Well, that was that. She would simply have to apologize and move on. With a sigh she heaved herself out of bed. At least her body didn’t ache anymore. For some reason she looked at the mirror and started to arrange her hair, and then her eyes widened as she found that the long awaited growth spurt had happened. She took a moment to appreciate her breast and hips, now curvy and round, and tossed her hair back, enjoying just how sultry she looked.

 

She smiled as she felt a new found confidence surge through her as she walked out of the room without waking Amelia. As she strode down the hallway she reflected that it was fortunate that Xellos never deigned to share a room with anyone and that with poor Zel staying at the inn, Gourry had his own room so no one would interrupt them.

_Interrupt us from what?_ She wondered with a chuckle.

 

Soon she was face to face with his door and she knocked. When he opened the door wearing nothing but a pair of drawstring pants she felt her breath leave her lungs. “Hey.” He said, any trace of annoyance he had with her gone. If anything he seemed happy to see her.  Very happy. And, did she imagine it, or was there a hint playfulness in his eyes? “What are you doing here so late?”

 

Lina’s stomach was a mess of floating butterflies and flipflops. Yet somehow she remained cool and collected and in control as she said, “I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay.”

 

He moved, emphasizing his muscular form, and once again the air vanished from her lungs as he said, “I’m fine.”

 

“And to apologize.” Lina said, pleased with herself for how mature she was, “You were trying to help. I shouldn’t have snapped. We’re good, right?”

 

“We’re very good.” He said as his eyes flashed hungrily as he looked her up and down and her heart raced.

 

And she knew exactly what to do as she batted her eyes and put a hand on his bare chest, right over his heart, “Just let me know how I can make this up to you.”

 

“Oh, I can think of a way for you to make it up to me alright.” He as he leaned forward to kiss her.

 

The boundaries of his room seemed to morph and shift to box her in with him as she returned his kiss while she let her hands trail down his chest as he pushed her back against the wall as the kiss deepened. Damn, but he felt just as good as she remembered, solid, with his muscle rolling warmly beneath his skin. But the most satisfying of all was how he moaned into her mouth under her ministrations.

 

 _Take that!_ She thought in response to all the people who told her she’d never be sexy growing up.

 

He broke the kiss to nuzzle at her neck as her shirt seemed to open of its own free will, fully revealing her newly formed assets. He moved a hand up to give them a gentle squeeze as he observed, “I see you grew them out for me.”

 

“I really wanted to make it up to you.” She said breathlessly as he started to caress her breasts, resulting in her crying out in pleasure.

 

He grinned as he started to twisted her nipples between his fingers, “Keep that up and you’ll wake the whole house up.”

 

“It…It’s your fault I’m moaning.” She hissed.

 

“Should I stop?” He asked as his hands froze.

 

“How can I make it up to you if you do that?” She asked as she stood on her toes to plant some kisses along his jawline.

 

“Good answer.” He replied huskily as he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her up a bit, and then she saw stars as he started thrusting into her, leaving her pinned between him and the wall, yet in the best way imaginable. She clasped her hands around his shoulders for leverage, silently pleading with him not to stop, for this feeling to continue…

 

Suddenly Gourry yelled in a voice that sounded alarmingly feminine, “Vanquish all foes of justice!”

 

“What the…”

 

“Prepare to die villains!”

 

Lina opened her eyes and the vision of Gourry vanished, and she struggled to figure out what had just happened. She was back in the room she shared with Amelia. A dream? But when had she even fallen asleep? As Lina took some time to sort through what was real and what was a dream she realized that if stupid Amelia had kept her mouth shut for five more minutes…

 

“Prepare to see justice served!” Amelia yelled once again, and Lina saw red as she picked up her pillow and threw it at her noisy bunkmate, “Shut up!”

 

“Wha?” Amelia asked sleepily as she sat up in bed, “What happened?”

 

“Oh nevermind, go back to bed.” Lina said as she laid back down, feeling tense and taunt, and not in a sexy way, as the escape the dream had brought vanished under the knowledge that she would soon be leaving this mansion to draw Zuuma out. And that hopefully she wouldn’t die.

 

 _What a way to kill the arousal_ , Lina thought with a sigh. No, she was way too stressed now to even wish for some privacy to attend to her needs. And going back to bed was not an option. She would never be able to sleep now. And it wasn’t as if there was too much time left before breakfast anyway.

 

“Humph.” She mumbled as she got up and walked past the mirror, noting with a sense of disappointment that she was once again flat, gawky and not sexy.

 

* * *

 

 

After Lina had dressed and packed, she headed down to the kitchen to see if breakfast was ready. When she caught a glimpse of the chatty housekeeper going in to talk with the cook, though, Lina spun around and ran back down the hallway so fast that she literally crashed into Gourry.

 

“What the…” she snapped, and then she blushed as she remembered first, crashing into him the previous night, and second, the rather amorous nature of her dream. “Damn.”

 

“Careful.” He said as he gently put his hands on her shoulders as she backed away while she looked at her feet to avoid his gaze.

 

“I, um, didn’t realize you were behind me.” She muttered, her heart racing as he dropped his hands to his sides. Surely there was no way he knew about her dream.

 

“I guess breakfast isn’t ready?” he asked in his typically clueless manner. No, he definitely was in the dark. Even better, it seemed as though any annoyance he’d had with her was gone.

 

Cautiously she looked at him. “Don’t know. I saw the housekeeper. I don’t want another rendition of everyone Radok has ever crossed again.”

 

He smiled a little. “You know, no one was in the library when I walked by it.”

 

“Deal.” She said as her heart raced at the thought of going to a room alone with him. Particularly one that smelled of musky old books. She hoped he didn’t notice that she was slightly flushed as she wondered if she should apologize or not. She inhaled as they entered the library and decided that the guilt was going to continue to nag at her until she did. So once they were seated on the sofa she just spit it out, “Hey, I’m not sure what was up with me yesterday, but I want to apologize for hitting you. I mean you were just wanting to help.”

 

His eyes hit his hairline, “Who are you and what have you done with Lina?”

 

“Gourry! I’m being serious!”

 

“I know, and it’s scary!”

 

“Fine,” she huffed as she got up to leave.

 

“Hey,” he said as he grabbed her hand, and Lina felt a spark run through her as he coaxed her to sit back down. “Don’t worry about it. Training is hard enough when you’re not in danger. But you can barely get a good night’s sleep anymore without getting attacked. It’s only normal that you would snap. I can handle it.”

 

Lina bit her lip which was suddenly trembling. Damn. How could he go from joking to dead serious, and somehow sum up all of the stress and worry she was under? He put a hand on her shoulder, “Just come out of this alive, okay? And then everything will be fine.”

 

She managed to smile, and she hoped that she projected more confidence than she felt. She thought back to her dream, where she was so confident and in control and sexy. But in reality she was awkward and clumsy and just plain gawky. After a moment she found her voice, “Of course I’ll make it out alive! I’m Lina Inverse!”

 

Some of her bravado returned with her words, and he started to run a hand through her hair, “And I’ll be there by your side.”

 

Lina let the warmth flow through her, even if she couldn’t summon up the bravery to say anything else. She needed to save it for the battlefield. Matters of the heart would just have to wait.


End file.
